Inscribed Albarello (Apothecary Jar) with Ecclesiastical Arms

Tin-glazed earthenware of waisted albarello form with an everted mouth and narrow foot. Painted in cobalt blue and ochre/yellow with a baroque cartouche enclosing a heraldic shield beneath a galero (ecclesiastical hat) with pendant tassels; above the cartouche, the drug label “TAMARIN DOS” (for tamarindos), the cover name for tamarind pulp. The rim and handleless body are further detailed with simple line borders; the glaze with the typical warm white, slightly pitted surface of Talavera ware.
Albarelli of this type were made for monastic and hospital pharmacies. Tamarindos (tamarind) was a valued imported fruit used chiefly as a gentle laxative and refrigerant; the covered jar would have stored the preserved pulp or an electuary.